H.R. 6082, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act

This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Reps. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and cosponsored by Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), expands the circumstances under which medical records relating to substance use disorders can be disclosed to healthcare providers, plans, and health care clearing houses, thereby enabling medical professionals to access that information when treating patients. Such disclosures must be made in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) privacy regulations and the bill prohibits any entity from discriminating against an individual on the basis of information contained in substance abuse medical records. This bill simply uses the same model that other federal privacy laws have, which is that exchanging health care information within the health care system produces better outcomes for that patient. On June 20, 2018, the House passed H.R. 6082 by a vote of 357 to 57.

This was the second of two scheduled full committee markups on legislation to combat the opioid crisis.

Energy and Commerce’s Full Committee Markups By the Numbers:

57 bills advanced to the House of Representatives

56 advanced with bipartisan votes out of committee

53 passed by voice votes out of committee

4 passed by roll call votes out of committee

Previous Legislation

Last Congress, E&C led two major initiatives being signed into law that provide critical resources for combating the crisis: The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) and the 21st Century Cures Act

CARA included 11 committee bills which ranged from additional resources to combat the epidemic to establishing an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and how it is prescribed. In September 2017, HHS released $144.1 million, largely through CARA to help prevent and treat opioid addiction.

Earlier this Congress, the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Omnibus) provided$4 billion to help address prevention, treatment, and enforcement issues – including $130 million for the Rural Communities Opioid Response program, striving to reach rural communities that have been hit especially hard by the opioid crisis and $1 billion in new grants to be dispatched to the states and Indian tribes. Additionally, $6.7 billion was included in the recent Defense-Labor-HHS appropriations package to boost programs that fight, treat, and stop substance abuse, and support access to mental health services.

October 2017 Full Committee Hearing Reviewing Previous Legislation and Federal Response to the Opioid Crisis

During the full committee hearing on federal efforts to combat the opioid crisis, Chairman Walden grilled the DEA on their lack of cooperation or responsiveness to the committee’s ongoing investigation.